Injury opens door for rookie Yunel Escobar

The shortstop is a hitting machine, a fielding machine - just automatic, Cox has said.

For at least the next two weeks, though, "The Machine" will be shut down.

The Braves put Renteria on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a sprained right ankle, his first DL stint since 1998. Renteria injured the ankle during Thursday's 14-inning loss to the Houston Astros. He was on crutches Friday.

"It's a little worse than we thought," Cox said. "It's a higher ankle sprain than we thought. And it's going to take at least two weeks to get him back in there."

Yunel Escobar will start at shortstop while Renteria is out, allowing Kelly Johnson to start every day at second. The team called up reliever Joey Devine from Class AAA Richmond to fill Renteria's roster spot.

The extended absence is rare for Renteria. He has played in at least 140 games for the last eight seasons, and has been on the DL only twice in his career - once in 1996 and once in 1998.

"I try to play every day, you know?" Renteria said. "But if you can't do it, you can't do it. You have to think about the team, too. I can walk, but they said I'm not supposed to put a lot of pressure on the ankle."

The Braves will be without a team leader and a linchpin of their offense. Before Friday, Renteria, 31, played in all but four of the team's 109 games this season. He is the team's No. 2 hitter, but filled in for Chipper Jones in the third spot while Jones was on the DL.

Renteria's .336 batting average entering Friday ranked fifth in the National League.

Renteria hurt the ankle during the eighth inning Thursday while attempting to field a hard grounder by Houston's Ty Wigginton.

His ankle bent backward and twisted and he was helped off the field.

Renteria will be eligible to come off the DL on August 18, when the Braves host Arizona.

Cox ships Reyes back to Richmond

After Thursday's game ended in the wee hours of Friday morning, the team sent pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to Richmond and called up Lance Cormier.

Cormier will be available in the bullpen this weekend, and will join the starting rotation next week. In five starts with Atlanta, Reyes went 0-1 with an 8.72 ERA.